The
Mayor’s Tongue is a bold, vertiginous debut
novel that unfolds in two complementary narratives, one
following a young man and the other an old man. The young
man, Eugene Brentani, is a devotee of the reclusive author
and adventurer Constance Eakins,
now living in Italy. The old man is Mr. Schmitz, whose
wife is dying; confused and terrified, he longs to
confide in his dear friend Rutherford. But Rutherford has
disappeared, and his letters, postmarked from Italy, become
more and more ominous as the weeks pass.

In separate but resonating story
lines, both men’s adventures take them
from New York City to the mountainous borderlands of northern
Italy, where the line between imagination and reality begins
to blur and stories take on a life of their own. Here we
are immersed in Rich’s vivid, enchanting world, full
of captivating characters—the despairing Enzo, who
wanders looking for a nameless love; the tiny, doll-like
guide, Lang; and the grotesque Eakins. Over this strange,
spectral landscape looms the Mayor, a mythic and monstrous
figure considered a “beautiful creator” by
his townspeople, whose pull ultimately becomes irresistible.

From a young writer with exceptional
promise, this refreshingly original novel is a meditation
on the frustrations of love, the madness of mayors, the
failings of language, and the transformative power of
storytelling.